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Great early slate doesn’t disappoint

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No. 23 Louisville 79, No. 5 UConn 78, 2OT: Two weeks ago, Peyton Siva was being booed at home by Louisville fans. I think he’ll get a much nicer welcome when he gets back to Louisville today. Siva had 19 points, seven assists, four boards, three steals, and two blocks while helping to hold Kemba Walker to 20 points on 7-23 shooting as the Cardinals went into Gampel Pavilion and knocked off the Huskies in double overtime. As good as he was all game, Siva was at his best down the stretch. He made Shabazz Napier look silly, driving through the UConn defense for a dunk at the end of the first overtime to tie the game. Then in the second overtime, Siva had two big drives in the second overtime to help Louisville hold on to their lead.

UConn had their chances. Kemba missed a fall away over two defenders at the end of regulation, gave up the ball at the end of the first overtime to Jeremy Lamb who missed three at the buzzer of the first overtime, and had a 30 foot three go in and out at the end of the game. Louisville really focused their defense on Kemba the entire game, but particularly in the clutch. As good as Lamb (21 points, but none in the second half) and Napier (23 points) were, UConn is going to need them to become more confident in late game situations.

While this really is a great win for Louisville, who spent much of the second half down, it is far for a disastrous loss for UConn. More than anything, its just another example of how balanced the top six teams in the Big East are.

No. 21 Georgetown 69, No. 8 Villanova 66: Maybe Villanova’s win at Syracuse last Saturday was more a sign of the the Orange’s struggles than the Wildcat’s greatness. Georgetown went into the Wells-Fargo Center this afternoon and jumped out to a lead on Nova that eventually reached double digits. The Wildcats made a run down the stretch, getting to within a point, but Antonio Pena missed an NBA three that would have tied the game on the final possession.

Austin Freeman was terrific for the Hoyas. He had 30 points and hit a number of big shots down the stretch. Also of note was the performance of Henry Sims and Nate Lubick, who combined for 13 points, six boards, and three blocks, although they were bigger factor than their numbers indicate. Most important? Georgetown was able to go to Philly and win despite getting nothing -- as in zero points -- from Chris Wright.

For the Wildcats, the issue was shooting more than anything. It took them too long to finally start hitting their open shots.

Xavier 85, Richmond 62: Any list of the best coaching performances in America would be incomplete if it doesn’t include Chris Mack. With all of the injury and eligibility issues that the Musketeers have had this season, they went into the Robins Center and smacked the Spiders by 23 points. The win moved the Muskies to 7-0 in league play, thanks in large part to 33 points, seven boards, and five assists from Tu Holloway, who easily won the battle of the point guards. Kevin Anderson finished with just 10 points on 4-16 shooting.

As expected, Justin Harper was fantastic. He had 20 points, five boards, two steals, and two blocks. But his lack of strength inside was evident as Kenny Frease went for 19 points and Jamel McLean had seven points and 12 boards.

Clemson 62, No. 22 Florida State 44: Florida State is the most confusing team in the country. Most had chalked up their loss to Auburn as a bit of a fluke after they beat Duke. The Seminoles were making a solid case to be the second best team in the ACC ... until today. The Seminoles were embarrassed by the Tigers, shooting just 32% from the field and finishing the game with 21 turnovers and just 16 field goals. No one on Florida State scored more than eight points. This team is way too inconsistent offensively.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.